Hey guys,
At what size lift do you have to mess with the drive shaft. I have seen pictures of a SP crew cab getting a 6 inch lift and the mechanic added a plastic retangler piece that changed the angle of the drive shaft. Do you have to do this at 6 inches or above? Did they only do it because it is a crew cab and is longer than the extended cab(that I have).

Any lifting or lowering changes the pinion angle which causes stress on the U-Joints and can cause premature failure. So the rear end must be adjusted so that the pinion angle is once again within spec.

The rear or the front driveshaft? The rear will need to be done on any amount of lift. I'm not sure if you have a carrier bearing on your rear or not. If you do that will need to be shimmed. You will need to lengthen the front driveshaft at 8" of lift and most recommend some type of long slip shaft. OverKill just ordered me a 12" long slip front driveshaft from High Angle Driveline to go w/ my 8" lift kit. Why stop there. I might as well get a new one from HAD for the rear too!

Hey Tank, how much did that driveshaft cost? I'm putting an 8" Edge on my truck in spring and just wondering what I can expect to spend... I'm looking at going with a High Angle Driveline shaft as well. Thanks!

It depends on the size and brand of lift. No modifications are necessary for 6" lifts (other than carrier bearing shims on trucks equipped with two piece shafts). The stock front driveshaft will work with most 8" lifts but lengthening is recommended. The stock shaft won't even come close with an Edge 8" kit. In fact we recommend switching to a long slip shaft due to the amount of suspension travel offered by the kit. Once you go beyond 12" of lift you need to look to a larger 42 or 80 degree CV. What to do for the rear depends on the wheelbase.

Normally anything above 10" or so will require driveshaft lengthening. A CV rear is also recommended for trucks equipped with one piece rear shafts with 8"+ of lift or to address driveline shutter on trucks equipped with two piece shafts.

What is the shim? Is that the piece I saw in FTW magazine article where they showed photos of a crew cab getting a 6 inch lift? It was a retangle piece. How do I know if I have the two piece driveshaft?

Thanks, you are always helpful

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October 23, 2003

yes it was that article that was a pretty good picture of it. i have to put those in my truck, i have a small vibration. to my knowledge all you do is unbolt the carrier bearing (the bearing circle that holds your two piece driveshaft joint to the body of the truck) and place in rectangular shims with holts for original bolts and keep messing with it until all vibration goes away. sounds simple enough but have not tackled it yet.